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Having sold my Fisher Fury (which gave me the bug for light cars with bike engines), I decided to take on a new project. This was something I have wanted to do for a while, and having done most of these jobs in isolation thought it was time to tackle them all in one project... building a car from scratch. The first stages revolved around a lot of thinking and some mocking up of a layout - see below. Once I confirmed everything would fit, it was time to nail down the suspension design. Quite a complex subject, but the main idea was to make the car fun and compliant to drive - pretty much like an MX-5 (hence the name, I'll come onto that later). Here's the geometry I decided on: http://tinyurl.com/phefzjt This led to more CAD, as I then knew where the load points would be on the chassis. Still very much a work in progress, but the basics are there... Here's the bits that will go within the bunch of tubes: GSXR 1000 K2 engine and bits, with thanks to David Birch (XTR2Turbo) for dropping these off at Silverstone this weekend while I was there. This is where the name comes from: MX-R1000 is a combination of MX-5 and GSX-R1000 MX-5 uprights, diff, driveshafts, hubs and brakes: Rod ends and spherical bearing for one front wishbone... this is the expensive bit of the build! Nice lightweight seat I had kicking about: And a lovely billet sump with swinging pickup for the engine: It will be chain drive, with the MX-5 diff converted for this purpose. Got a Mk2 Escort rack on the way, then the rest should take care of itself, hopefully... Will try and update every few weeks, wish me luck! Cheers, Adam

Hi all, You may have read about the proposed changes to the Junior Dr's contract. The problem is that the NHS has to save £30billion to try to balance the books caused by a growing population, increased expectations, rising cost of drugs, an aging population and a willingness to give free health care to anyone who gets here. Instead of dealing with the corruption, the waste and the abuse Jeremy Hunt has decided to force a contract change on Junior Dr's. This change will lead to a cut in salary of up to 30% as he has reclassified what is unsocial hours. He claims that this will have no affect on salary but he is lying. My daughter is a Junior Dr, which is anyone up to consultant. She works in Leamington and her base salary is £23000 plus banding for unsocial hours which means she get £28000 after 5 years at med school. This is less than a newly qualified Tube driver and can you imaging Aslef reacting to a cut of 30%? Out of that she has to pay her professional fees, insurance and to park everyday at the hospitals she works in. We restrict hours lorry drivers can work in any set period, yet this week she has worked 9-6 Monday to Thursday and followed this with 3 shifts starting 8.00am to 8.00pm with an extra 1/2 at each end for handover. This is followed by a 7.00am start on Monday. She works nights which are all 12 hours as do many other staff in the NHS which in spite of claims is open 24hours. Hunt has driven Dr's to ballot for a strike and has created an exodus of Dr's who are leaving to work in America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and interestingly these changes only at the moment apply to England as Wales and Scotland are seperate and see this as an opportunity to fill their vacancies. If we are not careful we will have less Dr's, less quality Dr's as they are stealing Doctors from Africa, India and Aisia to fill gaps. And make no mistake if the get this through they will come for Nurses, Firemen and Police next. I don't want this to descend into an argumentative thread, but if you feel like I do that we are at a tipping point with the NHS were Hunt is willing to destroy the quality of care we have at present by treating Dr's so badly, then please put your name to the petition below. If you feel you cannot thanks for reading this far. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/108782Sent

Back in July 2015 my Sport E electric Westfield was very badly damage due to a 'racing incident' at the Curborough sprint circuit. The car rolled three times and in the process ripped off or bent all four corners of the car. None of the wishbones, uprights or wheels escaped undamaged. In addition all the bodywork was broken in some way. On the face of it this was a total loss situation. However, amazingly all the electrical systems, motor and battery remained undamaged and in full working order. Fortunately I work for Potenza Technology. We had worked on a number of Westfield related design and development projects in the past. As a result Potenza were able to find a complete set of suspension parts and enough body panels to make the rebuild possible. The first job was to strip the car down to the chassis and check its condition. The main battery was hard mounted within the engine bay and so must have strengthened the chassis because it proved to be completely straight. On the other hand the wishbones and mounting clevises must have absorbed the crash forces. Also five suspension mounting clevises were either bent or ripped in some way and would need replacing. So with a bit of welding and a lot of kit building and the car could be back on the road again quite soon. But here's the problem - apart from my lack of driving skill, one of the reasons the car crashed in the first place must be to do with the unusual weight distribution. The engine bay battery weighs in at 160Kg. The motor, power controller, battery charger and cooling system were all mounted behind the rear bulkhead. Thus about 100Kg of weight was carried mostly behind and above the rear axle line. This weighty rear end made the car over steer and I found it quite difficult to control. Plan B. The original car carried batteries in both the engine bay and in an under tray beneath the car. The under tray weighed in at 200Kg so order to lighten the car for 2015 I removed these and reconfigured the remaining engine bay batteries to maintain power levels. Thus the car was 200Kg lighter - and faster - and unfortunately less stable! So for the 2016 car I will revert to the under tray battery, remount the differential in the correct orientation, fit a prop shaft and mount the motor and power controller etc into the engine bay. I calculate these changes will increase overall weight by 50Kgs to about 720Kg all up. This should result in a better balanced car that's easier for me to drive - and when people ask, where is the electric motor? - instead of pointing to the back of the car, I can open the bonnet and say 'in the engine bay'.

Hi James and welcome I started down exactly the same route as you. My advice - go and speak to Simon at Westfield - have a test drive and ask him any questions you have. There is no pressure - just a very friendly and informative meeting. I was torn between the Mega 2000 and the FW special Edition, and on Simon's advice I went for the FW Special Edition with the Zetec engine and throttle bodies. When you are at the factory you also have an opportunity to look at all the Westfields and compare the colours. I chose the orange as a result of this. I picked my kit up on 7 October and have just started my build. So far so good - the current manual coupled with all the information on this web site is an excellent resource.

Hi Folks It will be interesting to see the MSA response but I really do think need to use our energies to find an acceptable solution to work within the rules we have been presented rather than keep on fighting a lost cause! I look at this from 2 points of view

It's at the Golden Heart, the pub at the end of the dual carriage way bit of the A417 (coming from Swindon). Start around 19:30. Not convinced there will be too many Westfields there given the weather mind

You should also catch up with Tom who has just completed his FW S2000 car and again is in Swindon .

Hi James, Quite a few of us in the Swindon area, many having been through our own builds. Are you planning on coming to the Cotswolds meet on Thursday?

Mike, you've do it now I was going to fit a main beam/ flash switch to my steering wheel & was wondering how to do it. So if there's any left I would like another. Ps my computer skills are as got as my soldering so a programmed one would be very much appreciated. Thanks Andy

Mike, Did express an interest in this earlier, so not sure if I'm on the list or not. If not, and you have spare capacity could I have one too please. Thanks John.

R1 Fury? + "like" from Adam = you've bought Adam's Fury?

great work, this look like a great bit of kit. i'll take a kit please and i'll have a crack at soldering. No rush, when ever you manage to sort the bits,

Booked! I'll be there in the R1 Fury

Jeff I totally concur. My daughter is currently half way through her 5 year medical degree, prior to that she completed a 3 year medical science degree. That will mean she will have to study for 8 years before she can earn her £23k minus 30% - and pay back her tuition fees. There are many students in exactly the same position. Petition signed Dave

Cheaper here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JVJ4CPU?keywords=electrical%20connectors&qid=1445851617&sr=8-2 Ah! Just made my first post!!!

Sorry guys but I'm super proud. I've just completed my first and only Marathon! Has anyone else ever done one?, if so how was yours?

Well done! Done 2 (Brighton & London) and never again - last one gave me sciatica and I couldn't walk or work for 6 months!

seriously borrow the panda palace we are at heald green

What a cracking day out 300 mile round trip well worth it, well done to Julie for organising it. Good to meet the fellow members and partners and a big thanks to Andy for bringing his dad along an ex Lancaster aero mechanic what a gent. Hope you all made it home safely. Bob

My Duratec is probably so reliable because I never take it above 9,000 rpm.